Friday, October 31, 2008

Late Nap

Lili had a late nap today which means she is still awake, so I have time to post again.

I ran across this video tonight and just had to share it. Enjoy!

http://www.ireport.com/docs/DOC-131234

Hawaii Here We Come

I will not be participating in FFF this week as I'm up to my eyebrows in packing and cleaning. Unfortunately, I woke up with a sore throat, headache and body aches which has slowed down progress today. I finally took some Tylenol, which has helped, but I'm still dragging. The good news is that I have the majority of the packing done and only have a couple more loads of laundry to finish. The bad news is that my house is a disaster and I'm considering a call to FEMA to see if they can help :-) Lili was "helping" me pack today. I now have socks, pj's, shirts, etc. all over the bedroom floor. She also pulled diapers out of her dresser. I still need to clean my kitchen, dust bedrooms, mop floors, vacuum carpets and clean bathrooms. The other big job that "has" to get done is bathing and grooming Lexie. This is a 2-3 hour job, which is going to have to wait until tomorrow at this point.

This will be my last post until we return from our little Hawaii vacation, but I can't leave without encouraging everyone to "Get Out And Vote" on November 4th. Every vote does count and this is one of the most important elections in the history of the U.S.

One last parting comment before we leave . . . .


GO OBAMA!!!!!

I had to get one last plug in.

Thursday, October 30, 2008

Powell Supports Obama

**Political**

I knew that Colin Powell had recently announced his support of Senator Barack Obama for president, but I had never heard him speak completely of the reasons behind his decision. This is probably one of the best 7 minute discussions about the differences he sees between the two candidates and worth watching.

http://voices.washingtonpost.com/the-trail/2008/10/19/colin_powell_endorses_obama.html

Wednesday, October 29, 2008

More Pictures and Something to Think About

Lili loves to eat black beans, but apparently she loves wearing them as much as she loves eating them.






Now, onto a more serious topic. I have some other blogs linked to my blog. They are all listed on the right hand side of my blog page. One of them is Kerri's Journey. Kerri is a mommy, who like me has a beautiful little girl from Guatemala. She also has a beautiful daughter from Ethiopia, so for obvious reasons I very much enjoy following her blog. Kerri posted an interesting article today on some of the differences between Obama and McCain and then gave her opinion. I would encourage everyone to go out and read this post as it brings up some very good points.


http://kerrisjourneytomommyhood.blogspot.com/

Tuesday, October 28, 2008

Lili Smiles

A couple days ago I mentioned my challenge in getting Lili to smile for pictures. Last night at dinner I was able to get lots of smiles from her so daddy got the camera and started taking pictures. Success!!!

(Sorry about the messy face and bib, but we have to take what we can get these days.)
My friend Julie is an angel. She has given Lili several of her girls outgrown clothes and fortunately for Lili and I, Julie has good taste in clothes. One of Julie's favorite places to shop is Children's Place and thanks to Julie and one of my other friend's, Nicole, Lili has several items from Children's Place. A few weeks ago Lili and I were out running errands and I decided to check out Children's Place for myself. I had no idea they have such great sales and their clothes are adorable. I went in for the sole purpose of buying Lili some p.j.'s, but walked out with the little outfit Lili is modeling in the next two photos.
She's stylin'.

Monday, October 27, 2008

As the Election Nears

**Political**

The candidates are making their way across the country making their final remarks before next week's election. Many states have been offering early voting and many votes have already been cast so it will be interesting to see what election day is really like this year. Dave and I cast early ballots because we will be in Hawaii on election day and probably the only ones sitting in our rooms watching the results :-) LOL!!!!

Because I know some still haven't decided on a candidate, I wanted to continue my posts on "Fact or Fiction." You can click on the link below and read through the various information being stated by the candidates to find out if what they are saying are true, false or misleading. It's great reading.

http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/category/fact-check/

Sunday, October 26, 2008

FFS

It's Favorite Photo Sunday at the Weeks' house :-)
Yesterday we attended a Halloween party hosted by our home study agency. I was concerned that Lili would be frightened by the costumes, but even the scariest of costumes only intrigued her. My other concern was that she would protest wearing her costume, but again she wore it without complaining at all.

You would think that having your child in costume means many photo ops, but let me just say that Lili isn't the easiest subject to photograph. She is constantly on the go and when you do get her to stand still she isn't a willing participant and has now started smiling after the photo is taken. I'm sure this has to do with the sound my camera makes when the picture is taken. I discovered recently that you can change the shutter sound and mine sounds like a dog bark now, which she thinks is funny, but doesn't necessary assist while I'm trying to get a smile out of her for the picture.

So, I now present Lili the ladybug, who smiled after the picture was taken.

Please ignore the woman holding Lili, who looks like she was drinking something stronger than the lemonade that was served at the party.And here is Lili the Ladybug who was too busy watching the kids to pose at all for a photo. At least we have some newer picture of Lili with mommy and daddy.

Ben was looking at picture of Lili that I had on the camera and commented that she wasn't smiling in the photos. I explained that she now smiles after the picture is taken and he wanted to find out for himself so he took some pictures of her this morning. Here is what he got.
Lili waiting for the picture to be taken.

She smiled and then waited again.

Friday, October 24, 2008

Yes, I Know

It's FFF and I didn't post a picture, but I think I have a really valid reason today. Lili and I were gone most of the day collecting documents for our Ethiopia dossier :-) We also had to take Ryan to the lab for some blood work to check his medication levels. As a result, it's 9:40 p.m., we've only been home a short time and I'm quickly getting this posted to let you know that I will be getting some pictures posted at some point this weekend, but it might be the end of the weekend.

Also, an update on adoption #2. As I'm sure you figured out, we are officially paper chasing for our dossier. The dossier for Ethiopia is quite a bit easier than the Guatemala dossier was. After today, we have about half of the documents collected. Also, I traded several emails with our social worker yesterday and found out that we will only need to complete an update on our home study which will only require one visit. YEAH! Not that we don't like our social worker, because we like her very much, but we really didn't want to have to go through the entire process all over again. In Illinois, it takes almost 3 months to complete a home study due to some state requirements. It was very nice to find out that our home study is going to take much less time. Our hope now is that we'll have everything submitted to our placement agency in December. They will get our documents translated and submitted for authentication which will take another 3-4 weeks and then we'll be on the official wait list for an infant girl. Currently, our agency has a 2-4 month wait for referral. So we hope to have a referral by the end of Spring with travel for pick up sometime next summer.

That's our update for today. Keep watching for new pictures this weekend.

Tuesday, October 21, 2008

Debate Fact or Fiction

**Political**

For those who are interested, here is the latest on what was fact and what was fiction in the last presidential debate.

http://www.factcheck.org/elections-2008/factchecking_debate_no_3.html

Monday, October 20, 2008

What Was I Thinking?!

About a week ago, Lili was hanging on my leg while I was trying to feed the dogs. I decided to distract her by allowing her to help. So, I prepared their food and then gave her one of the dishes and helped her carry it and place it in the stand. We did the same thing with the second dish and she was very proud of herself. She has helped a couple times since then, but is now so proud of herself that she takes a dish out of the stand, carries it around and puts it back and then claps for herself. Fortunately, we worked with our dogs as puppies and they are not at all bothered by Lili taking their food dishes, but mom isn't thrilled by this new game. Still it's very cute so I took pictures of Lili and the food dish this morning.

Fortunately, I mix some canned food in with the dry. I'm sure I would have dog food all over the floor otherwise.

The dish is now going back to the stand.


She took it back out again.



And back to the stand it goes.

And now her job is complete.

Friday, October 17, 2008

FFF

Can you believe I'm actually posting on FFF?!!!!! You might want to mark this date on your calendar.

Before I post photos, I want everyone to know that we finally mailed our contract and other paperwork to our placement agency today. Once they receive the paperwork they will send us the necessary information to begin our dossier. We did get an email from our home study social worker before we left for Myrtle Beach and I know they've sent out our reference forms, but we still don't have any appointments set for our interviews. I'm hoping we get at least one interview out of the way before our Hawaii trip. That first interview will make me feel as if we are truly making progress toward baby girl #2. Anyway, based on the time it takes to complete a home study in Illinois and the current timeline on referrals through our agency, I'm hopeful that by this time next year we'll have our referral and be waiting for our case to make it through the Ethiopian courts. It's doubtful that we'll have our Ethiopian princess home before the end of 2009, but she should come home early 2010.

Now onto the photos . . . .

Here are some more pictures from our trip to Myrtle Beach.

Lili at the aquarium.
Lili at the beach.

Lili in constant motion at the beach.

Thursday, October 16, 2008

Myrtle Beach Trip

We're back from Guatoberfest and I can honestly say it was great! My hat goes off to those ladies who organized the event. They did an awesome job!!! We met some new families and connected with two families we spent time with on our visit trip last October. What a great reunion!!!

Here are a few pictures from our weekend.

Evening #1 was a meet and greet session which included food. They had little wrapped hot dogs. She didn't like the wrap, but loved the hot dogs.

I love this picture. Lili is watching the sharks swim by at the aquarium. She loved it!!!


Beach baby, beach baby there on the sand.

Wednesday, October 15, 2008

Election Year (Political)

For the first time in our history, race has become a factor in this year's election. I wish everyone was color blind, but the unfortunate truth is that many who reside in the US of A are not and it's any one's guess how that will play out in this year's election.

What I didn't anticipate is how the candidates would approach the race issue and I have to say that I'm disappointed with recent events and how out-of-control things seem to be getting (at least in my view). I'm sure those who are reading this blog post are doing so because they do want to stay on top of the political news and most of you are already perfectly aware of what has been happening. However, for those who may not be completely aware of some of the things that have recently been said at some of these rallies, I'm posting some links for you to read at your leisure. These links are of recent events that disappoint me and again remind me of the racism that still exists within our country and appears to be fueled by at least one of the parties.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/10/06/AR2008100602935.html

http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/10/08/campbell.brown.that.one/index.html?iref=newssearch

Quite some time ago I came to the realization that becoming a conspicuous family through adoption meant that I needed to become much more aware of racial issues. I was raised in a small community in the Midwest with little diversity. When I say little diversity I mean there was one person in town of a different race and I'm glad to call this person my friend. However, that was certainly not enough diversity for me to have any real understanding of race or the experiences that my friend faced growing up and still faces today. In my adult life I have had friends of different race and cultural backgrounds, but had and still have a lot to learn and understand. I am trying to educate myself on a daily basis and was introduced to New Demographic several months ago. The article I received yesterday discusses the topic of "White Voter." I found it very appropriate based on the recent political events and wanted to share that article with you. Within the article are several links which I would encourage you to read as well.

An open letter to white voters, or what McCain really thinks of you
by Carmen Van Kerckhove

Dear white voter,

Sorry, was that too direct? Sarah Palin loves calling you “Joe Six Pack” and “hockey mom.” Perhaps I too, should use one of 68 possible euphemisms to refer to you instead.

I want to ask you a simple question: Which candidate — McCain or Obama — do you think has a higher opinion of your character?

John McCain has spent the last couple of weeks asking ominously: “Who is the real Barack Obama?”

Sarah Palin hasn’t hesitated to supply an answer to this question. She declared at a Florida rally on Monday that Barack Obama “is not a man who sees America the way you and I see America. I’m afraid this is someone who sees America as imperfect enough to work with a former domestic terrorist who had targeted his own country.”

And as CNN’s Campbell Brown pointed out in her commentary Wednesday night, McCain surrogates have made a point of calling the Democratic candidate “Barack Hussein Obama” at least twice this week.

The McCain campaign is doing its best to paint Obama as a shadowy Manchurian candidate who is un-American, unpatriotic, dangerous, sympathetic to terrorists, and possibly even a secret Muslim (needless to say, that’s a bad thing in their eyes).

That much is obvious.

But what does their strategy say about what they think of you, the white voter?

Judging from their messaging, they seem to be stereotyping white voters as closed-minded, paranoid, naive, xenophobic, and just a tad bit racist.

And they are certainly connecting successfully with people who match this profile.
At a
New Mexico rally on Monday, McCain asked the crowd, “Who is the real Barack Obama?” A voice in the crowd yelled out, “A terrorist!”

When Palin delivered her stump speech berating Obama at the Florida rally on the same day, an audience member yelled, “Kill him!” Audience members then began shouting angrily at the reporters covering the event, one of them yelling racial slurs at an African-American camera man and telling him to “Sit down, boy.”

Do you bear any resemblance to these agitators? Probably not.

Do you fit the profile of the racist and xenophobic white voter? Probably not.

Then do you really want to support a candidate who thinks so little of you that his only strategy right now is to appeal to your basest human instincts of fear and hatred?

Contrast McCain’s view of you to that of Obama’s.

Despite the harsh realities of racism in America — his being placed under Secret Service protection earlier than any other presidential candidate in history, for example — Obama has never expressed anything but unfailing faith in you.

His February 2007 appearance on 60 Minutes was just one of countless interviews in which he made that clear:

KROFT: You think the country’s ready for a black President?
OBAMA: Yes.
KROFT: You don’t think it’s going to hold you back?
OBAMA: No. I think if I don’t win this race, it will be because of other factors. It’s going to be because I have not shown to the American people a vision for where the country needs to go that they can embrace.


In his speech on race this spring, Obama declared: “I would not be running for president if I didn’t believe with all my heart that this is what the vast majority of Americans want for this country.”

Dear white voter, it’s time for a decision.

This November, will you support the candidate who assumes the worst about your character and motivations?

Or will you vote for the candidate who has never stopped believing in and championing your capacity for greatness?

Thursday, October 9, 2008

FFF Early

This weekend is Guatoberfest which I have been looking forward to for weeks. Of course this also means that I will be off line for a few days and decided to post some pictures of Lili for Favorite Photo Friday, even though it's Thursday.
Over the weekend, Lili and I met some friends at an orchard. It was Lili's first orchard experience and a lot of fun for both of us.
The orchard had some beautiful flowers. Of course they weren't as beautiful as our little flower, but close.

The orchard also had some inflatables there. Lili wasn't quite sure at first, but soon realized it was fun to bounce around in.
Can she do it folks? Considering the pumpkin wasn't much smaller than she is and probably weighs about the same, I don't know if this will be a success or not.
Maybe a different angle will help.

Apparently, playing in the dirt is much easier than picking up a pumpkin.

Wednesday, October 8, 2008

He Said, He Said, He Said, She Said

Political

For those who are interested in the current political battle for the White House, here is a link to statements that the Presidential and Vice Presidential candidates have said in their debates and on the campaign trail and the truth behind those statements.

http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/category/fact-check/

Even if you aren't completely into politics right now, it's interesting reading.

Monday, October 6, 2008

Then and Now

Lili on our visit trip this time last year.

Lili now.

Lili then.

Lili now.

Lili then.Lili now.
What a difference a year makes and what a year it has been.


Sunday, October 5, 2008

One Year Ago Yesterday

We were on our way to Guatemala where we would meet and hold our daughter for the first time. I can remember the excitement we felt and with each leg of our journey that excitement grew. I remember arriving to the hotel and looking around in anticipation that Lili would already be there with her foster family. I remember going up to our room and the phone ringing a few minutes later telling us that Lili and her foster family had arrived. I remember wishing the elevator would move faster, then exiting the elevator to see Lili and her foster family approaching us. I remember tears welling up in my eyes as I saw her and held her for the very first time. I remember Dave holding her for the first time and seeing the love he felt for her grow. We built many wonderful memories on that trip and we will cherish those memories forever.

I wish I could post some pictures from that trip, but unfortunately they are on the computer that is currently not accessible because of the basement project. I will do my best to get them off the computer and posted over the next week though.

One year later we are getting ready to take a trip to Myrtle Beach and on that trip we will be reunited with at least two other families that were on their visit trips in Guatemala with us. We will again have an opportunity to build wonderful and lasting memories together, but this time we won't be leaving without our children and that will be the best part of the trip for all of us.

Friday, October 3, 2008

Getting Ready for Myrtle Beach

Apparently Lili is ready to go to Myrtle Beach. Her bucket and sand toys are in her little beach wagon and she's been pulling it around the house lately. This is going to be a fun, fun, fun trip.



I asked Lili "Are you ready to go to Myrtle Beach?" and here are her expressions as she responded, "Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah."



Thursday, October 2, 2008

Hodge Podge

We have had more than usual going on lately and I've gotten way behind in posting. So, here is an attempt to catch everyone up.

The biggest thing we've had going on is getting Ryan moved. We found a new agency and have had many conversations with them about Ryan and a possible move to their agency. We found out yesterday that they are now working on the necessary paperwork to get him moved before October 20th so he will be come a client of the new agency very soon. We were very pleased to find out that he does not have to move to the Chicago area and will be moving to a home about 30 miles from us. We are very encouraged by the attitude of this agency and feel they will make the necessary changes that will make Ryan's life much more enjoyable, including a day program, which he really needs.

Ryan has also gone to visit the new house a couple time and will be going several times over the next couple of weeks, including some over night visits to help make his transition a little easier. It would be better if we had several more weeks in which is could visit, but since his current agency has decided to close the house he's living in now, we don't have that much time and are doing the best with the timeline we've been given.

We are still trying to get our basement cleaned up so we can begin renovations. The hope is that the remainder of the clean up will happen on Saturday with new insulation and sheetrock going up on Sunday. A good friend has offered to help and that will certainly move things along more quickly.

Here are some photos we took of the flood.




Our friend brought some of his kids with him the day he was helping Dave get the sump pump working to get the water out of the basement. His 4 year old says as they are getting ready to leave, "I like your basement better this way." It was so nice being able to laugh about the situation and kids have a way of making you see the brighter side of things.

Lili has turned into a little monkey since she's discovered she can climb on the furniture. All pieces of furniture are now fair game as far as she's concerned.

Here's the proof.

Lili doesn't seem to mind the fact that the office chairs are on wheels and swivel. She still likes climbing on them and standing on them.


She's so proud of herself.
Last, but not least, we submitted our application and required paperwork to our home study agency today. With everything going on lately, we thought we were going to have to wait until the end of the year to get started, but since things are moving in a positive direction with Ryan, we decided to really get things going. I'm now in the process of reading through all the paperwork from the placement agency so we can get our contract and other paperwork signed and submitted to them. Once that is done we'll get our dossier information and can really begin the paper chase. For those who have been down this road before, you know that this is really the only part of the process that you have any control over. Once we turn our dossier over to the agency, it is out of our hands and we wait. Our Ethiopia experience is going to be very different from our Guatemala experience. We will wait several months for our referral, accept the referral, the case goes through the Ethiopia court system and once that is complete we travel to pick up our baby girl. With Guatemala we received our referral a few weeks after our dossier was submitted and then we waited for birth mother interviews, PGN reviews, etc. which took 9 months and for those 9 months we watched Lili grown through pictures and doctor reports. This time around we should only have a wait of 3-4 month from time we receive our referral until our baby girl is in our arms forever.
I think that's enough hodge podge for today.